I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for trimming excess vinyl film from a semiconductor workpiece hoop assembly which supports one or more semiconductor workpieces during semiconductor fabrication and packaging.
II. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture and assembly of semiconductor products, relatively small parts or components must be moved through several automated processes. Such parts or components are commonly placed on a hoop assembly having a vinyl film which is stretched across interlocking hoops. The hoop assembly is used as a carrier for the parts or components. Once workpieces are mounted on the vinyl film, manufacturing operations such as scribe/deave, facet coat, load/unload, pick and place, and visual inspection may be performed using automated equipment. The workpieces are mounted and dismounted from the hoop assembly at each step.
Each time a new hoop assembly is constructed, the excess vinyl that sticks out from the hoop joint, where the inner and outer hoops meet, must be trimmed. Such an example is depicted in FIG. 1, where the inner and outer hoops 114, 116 reside on top of support 102. The film 104 is stretched across the interior of the hoops 114, 116 and through the hoops 114, 116, which provide the necessary tension for the film 128 to remain in place. Excess film 118 extends outside of the inner and outer hoops 114, 116. This excess film 118 must be trimmed up to the edge of the hoop assembly 126. Ordinarily, an operator manually trims away the excess film 118 using a razor blade. However, a new blade must be used for every other hoop assembly 114, 116, 128 due to the dulling effects of the vinyl film. Moreover, this manual process is cumbersome and encompasses safety issues associated with the use of any blade or sharp edge instrument.